Mosque Church

Lonely Planet review

This lovely square of mostly baroque buildings framed by the Mecsek Hills is where you should start a walking tour of Pécs. Dominating the square - indeed, the very symbol of the city - is the former Pasha Gazi Kassim Mosque. Today it's the Inner Town Parish Church (Belvárosi plébánia templom), more commonly known as the Mosque Church. It is the largest building still standing in Hungary from the time of the Turkish occupation.

The square mosque with its green copper dome was built with the stones of the ruined medieval church of St Bertalan in the mid-16th century; after the expulsion of the Turks, the Catholic Church repossessed it. The northern semicircular part was added in the 20th century. The Islamic elements on the south side are easy to spot: windows with distinctive Turkish ogee arches; the prayer niche (mihrab) carved into the interior southeast wall; faded verses from the Koran to the southwest; lovely geometric frescoes on the corners. The mosque's minaret was pulled down in 1753 and replaced with a tower.